One Night
by dreamcatcher81
Summary: *Nominated 1st quarter 2011 Dokuga Awards "Best Oneshot"* When you don t know if you will live to see tomorrow, do you have something to take with you to the netherworld? Will you have a special memory to cherish?


Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot. I don´t own the figures of Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Here is my second one shot. It is also my thank you for all of the effort to keep Dokuga going. Thank you all! You are great! Please enjoy!

A/N: Done with my lovely Beta Firehauke. You´ve done a great job again, thank you!

* * *

The diminutive Shikon Miko sat deep in thought beside her silver-haired companion. Many events lately had taken their toll on the young human and she had matured a great deal over the last month. It was now almost four years since she began traveling through a time that was not her own and tried to fulfill a duty too big for anyone weaker then her.

But even if it was not visible for most, the female was incredibly strong and so had managed to keep going even beyond the point of breaking. Nonetheless it had lately become so much harder for her. The former lover of her beloved had finally been laid to rest not too long ago and she had learned in the weeks before this that he would never return her love in the way she deserved.

Now strangely sobered, she found that her life greatly lacked perspective. She would have to travel this way until she and her comrades in arms managed to overcome the evil and free the world of the cursed jewel. The problem was that none of them could see any light at the end of the tunnel and with every passing day they feared more and more for their cursed friend.

But she had also gained new allies. The night after the demise of the former Shikon Miko she had been sleepless, and briefly left her camp. She found the small ward of the Western Lord alone and lost in the night and brought her back to her protector. The imp had been beaten up and forced to watch helplessly as the girl had been taken by one of Naraku´s minion.

After this, the lord had come to her every time he had to leave the little girl. In return he had begun to also keep an eye on her. Unbeknownst to her original protector and herself, he had taken over the duty to shelter her. He had even begun to look after her other needs and gifted her with some decent clothing fitting for the era she moved around.

A soft sigh escaped her and he turned his head to look at her. Since he began to visit her on regular basis to look after her, to ensure she was as well as possible, somehow they had begun to speak once in a while, seeking comfort and company at each other. Not that he would tell anybody but he had begun to see the little female as pack and begun to care for her, even if she was human.

"What ails you, miko?" Raising one slender silver brow, he looked questioningly at her.

"Nothing, Sesshōmaru-sama, really." She smiled up at him. "It´s just... I feel as if the battle with Naraku is near and I really don´t know if I will live or die..."

"Hn," understanding dawned in his eyes. Unlike everything Inuyasha had told her about the demon lord, she had found that the male was a very emotional being, just not expressive. She understood his need to keep the cold façade in place in order to protect himself, and especially those who were his pack.

"You know, if I died..." She hesitated and blushed. "I would die without ever knowing the embrace of a lover, without ever having made love and been held by someone who loves me." Looking up at the stars she sighed. "But I think it is ok."

"Hn," following her gaze, the inu pondered her words. Then he returned his gaze to her face. "Is this love you speak about really that valuable?"

"It is." She smiled, a soft, sweet smile that made his heart beat unsuspectedly faster.

"So if it is..." He began, his gaze never leaving her. "This one find himself in the same situation. While this Sesshōmaru admits to have rutted from time to time, I have never felt what you call love."

"Oh," Turning her head, Kagome locked her gaze with his.

"Tomorrow night," mindful of his sharp claws the dai took her petite hand. "Will you give me the honor, miko and show this one about this love? Just for this one night?"

"What?" Surprise spread over her beautiful features, but then she thought about it. Maybe they would all die tomorrow, or the day afterwards. Maybe this was their last chance of a night like this. She had always taken the safe road and at this moment she decided that for this one time she would not. This one time she would do something reckless, something for herself.

Patiently the male at her side waited while he watched her ponder over his proposal. He could see how she mulled over the situation and finally reached her decision. As she gave him a short firm nod he bent over to her, placed a soft kiss at her cheek and rose to his feet.

"Wait for me, I shall come like usual and call you."

* * *

It had been a long hard day. They had been attacked by some random yōkai who sought their shards of the Shikon jewel and Kagome had found herself in the middle of the onslaught. If it hadn´t been for Kirara she would have been dead by now, because her once protector was so deep in his depression to notice anything around him.

After taking a long bath with Sango, she lay now in her sleeping bag and waited for Sesshōmaru´s call. She had pondered most of the day if it was the right decision, but now she had made up her mind. Being sure that it was the right thing to do, she found herself almost aching for his arrival. Her heart pounded so hard that it hurt, filled with an unknown want for him.

Finally feeling his call, she rose silently from her bedding and stepped into the darkness of the surrounding trees; then felt him wrap his arms around her. Leaning against him as he transported them away to a beautiful clearing, she knew that for this one night it would be the right thing to do. Reaching up she cupped his jaw and looked at his moonlit face.

"For this one night, Sesshōmaru," she whispered dropping the honorifics just for this one time. "I´ll give you my heart, my love, my body and my soul. For this one night all that I am shall be yours."

"And I shall be yours," the inu whispered back. With this said he bent down to claim her lips in an unexpectedly tender kiss. Carefully he moved his mouth against hers, while his hands moved up from her waist into her hair. With a soft tug he bent her head further back and tilted his head. He traced her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance which she willingly allowed him.

For a long while the both of them were completely content by kissing and feeling each other. When they broke the kiss, both were panting and the inu found that he was actually shaking. He lifted his female for the night up and carried her to the middle of the clearing where he had placed a large group of furs for bedding.

Sitting her down he took her hands, turned the palms up and kissed them softly. Locking gold with blue his thumbs traced lazy circles on the silky skin of her wrists. Then he bent forward once more, kissing her temple, her cheek and the corners of her mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut, her head lolled back, baring her vulnerable throat to him.

Sesshōmaru felt as if his heart skipped a beat at this wonderful sight. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her closer and made his way down the tender skin, nibbling, licking and kissing. Her small hand fisted in his hair as a soft moan escaped Kagome as she buried her face in his silver locks.

His hands wandered under her shirt, tracing the soft skin of her back and flat stomach. The inu brushed his thumbs over her covered tips of the full breasts, earning himself another gasp from the female. Withdrawing his hands he loosened his sash, letting it fall down. His haori fell open and he shrugged it from his shoulders.

A pretty blush appeared on his female´s face at the sight of the half naked male before her. Shy fingers reached out and ghosted over his bare chest. Kissing Kagome once more he reached out for her. Slowly so she would have time to pull away he opened her kimono top and pulled it over her head. Her hakamas followed closely behind.

His breath caught in his throat. He had know that the little miko was beautiful, but seeing her like this, clad only in the lacy garments she called underwear made her look celestial. Again mindful of his sharp claws he lifted his hand, cupped her jaw and traced her plump, full lower lip with his thumb. A soft smile of adoration appeared on his normally so stoic face.

"You are so beautiful!" These were the last words spoken for the rest of the night. For the rest of the night there was only touch, only smell, only feelings. They moved as one, losing themselves into each other. For this night they truly belonged to each other, loved each other.

* * *

The next morning found the petite miko back in her sleeping bag, abruptly woken by the cursing and grumbling hanyō. A soft, sad smile spread over her face at the remembrance of the last night. For a second she pondered if it had maybe even been a dream, but once she moved a slight pain shot through her body and reminded her that it had been anything but a dream.

She had known that he would bring her back as morning approached and she was fine with it. Yet she couldn´t help but feel melancholy at the realization that this wonderful night had really ended. While it had lasted she had found that she wished it would never end. As the end of the night approached, she had felt that somehow, her inu lover shared in this wish.

Kagome knew that he worried for her, worried that she may regret what had occurred. For her there was nothing to regret, she didn´t feel empty or sorry. The young miko felt alive like never before. She was happy with their night together and while she knew it would never repeat itself, she would cherish the memory of it.

It had been so right to give him not only her love and her heart but also her body and soul for she knew that he had done the same. Deep inside herself she knew both of them had found love in those moments together. Love that would help them to go on and take what ever the future would bring.

With a soft sigh she rose, completely ignoring the rampaging Inuyasha and readied herself for the day. Kagome acted like a sleepwalker, attending her daily tasks, answering questions and smiling at her comrades but not really taking an active role in the day. The only things that seemed to really reach her was Shippo. Her little kit spent his day perched on her shoulder, talking to and cuddling with his surrogate mother out of an inner instinct.

Days came and went, melted into weeks and it became more and more clear that the spider-hanyō was plotting. Tension spread through the group and soon they found themselves springing to defense at every loud noise. Especially Inuyasha, who was now constantly rambling about revenge for his dead love grated at everybody´s nerves.

Finally the end came when they least thought it would, in the middle of the day, just as they had stopped to rest and eat. The battle was hard and bloody and for a long time it seemed as if in the end they would loose. Especially Inuyasha´s wild, rushing attacks; they became more and more dangerous to his comrades, but not for the evil half breed.

Suddenly the unbelievable happened. One of his crude attacks went completely wrong and Kagome found herself pushing her slayer-friend out of the way to protect her. A serene smile spread over her face at the memory of that one night so many weeks before. The one night that had given her something to dream about and to take with her into the netherworld.

The moment the attack would hit, she felt someone grab her and move her out of the way. Looking up, she found the stoic face of the Western Lord. Shock and incredulity spread over her beautiful face, only to be replaced with a tender smile at the softening of his expression for just a few seconds.

Wordlessly he gave her a signal to combine their efforts and attacks. Naraku began to laugh and taunt them at the picture of two of them together before him. Too proud to realize the danger from the two beings taking their stance in front of him, he was unable to grasp the enormity of the situation in the time as he was hit by the combined force of the inu and the miko.

He was ripped apart by the force of the energy attack of Bakusaiga, and Kagome´s arrow struck and purified the shards of the jewel. Together, they had freed mankind of his evil presence. The hanyō then turned on them, hurling cursing insults as he felt cheated of his revenge.

Disregarding the foul mouthed boy Kagome turned to look at the inu by her side. Examining his face she tried to figure out why he had saved her and then combined their attacks. Just as she opened her mouth to ask him, she felt an arm wrap around her waist. The yōkai pulled her flush against his body and silenced every question she had with a kiss.

Everyone gasped in surprise unison, staring at the pair. Only Inuyasha tried to rush forward and attack, yelling incoherent things about Sesshōmaru trying to steal his sword and his miko. No one paid attention to his ramblings and before he could do anything stupid a sutra was slammed to his back by the monk, instantly freezing him.

"Why?" whispered Kagome as the kiss was finally broken.

"Because, little one," the Western Lord said back, "This one has decided that one night is not over yet. This one night, our night, shall last forever if you agree." Kissing her once more he whispered the words that made her heart and soul fly back where they belonged, to him.

"Be my mate, Kagome!"

* * *

A/N: It came to my mind while I worked on my other stories and I felt like writing this. I hope you like it. Please read and review. Feedback is my fuel.


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